Randall’s Ramblings, February 11, 2018

Winter is hanging on with a tight grip. Plenty of snow this past week but at least the temperatures are above zero (fahrenheit). The photo above was taken yesterday from the back of the house. I could take a picture today and it would look very similar, but the snow might be a bit thicker.

This photo was also taken yesterday during a lull in the storm. The view is from our deck overlooking Lake Huron. Approximately forty-three miles away is the Canadian shoreline. The snow piled on the rail is now about two inches higher. Today’s forecast calls for another four to six inches of snow over the next eight hours. Brrrr!

My Work in Progress

Editing on Dangerous Alliance and external activities consumed a lot of time over the past week. However, I’m please to report I completed the third chapter of New World Revolution. It’s posted to the two subscription writing sites I use. There’s been six reviews of the chapter so far, all positive.

Here’s a snippet from New World Revolution, chapter one:

Mary came out the barn carrying a small bucket. “Hello, husband, lads. Milking’s finished.” She handed the milk to Hannah. “Take this inside.”

While the boys stored the scythes in the barn, William and Mary walked arm-in-arm toward the house. The mouth-watering aroma of the stew hurried them forward.

“Wash up and set yourself to the table.” Mary waved her family inside before going to the kettle and filling plates with the turnip, carrot, and onion stew. Once everyone was seated, Mary returned to the hearth. She slid a slender board attached to a long pole into a heated stone alcove, and drew out a single loaf of fresh bread.

“Oooh, ‘tis a treat indeed.” William’s brown eyes bulged, a wide grin on his face, as the rich aroma set stomachs rumbling.

“One piece each. No more, and be thankful you have this.” Mary smiled at her family and joined them at the table. “Another surprise today as well—fresh churned butter. Father, will you offer the blessing?”

William bowed his head and closed his eyes, pressing his hands together. The family followed his lead.

“Oh, almighty God. ‘Tis right we give thanks to you. Bless this food prepared by loving hands. Keep us in good health, so we might continue to prosper even in bad times. Thy will be done. Amen.”

After William said grace, he kept his head bowed. Hannah and her brothers raised theirs, eyeing the food. At last, William nodded, and everyone reached for a spoon. No one spoke. An occasional contented slurp broke the sound of utensils scraping on wooden plates, the coarse, dark and heavy wholegrain bread mopping up the last of the gravy. Plates were licked clean, consuming every drop.

Perhaps more next time.

Books I’m Reading

I recently read The Gray Ship, the first novel in Russell Moran’s Time Magnet series. With well-crafted characters and a riveting plot, this is a compelling read. Join Captain Ashley Patterson, the commanding officer of a nuclear warship as the unthinkable happens. One moment, they’re near Charleston, South Carolina. Moments later, Ashley and her crew are still by the same port, but find themselves in a strange setting. Gone are modern buildings and ships. Instead, the ship has arrived just prior to the beginning of the Civil War.

Follow the crew as they try to come to terms with their new reality. I don’t want to give away anything, but will they alter history? Russell has created a story so easy to become immersed in, it’s hard to believe time travel doesn’t exist. Or does it? I thoroughly enjoyed the story and couldn’t wait to get a copy of the sequel.

In The Thanksgiving Gang, Russell has gone with a different twist, but still as full of suspense as The Gray Ship. What would happen if we traveled into the future and found out we had died well before our time? Join Jack Thurber as he stumbles across a wormhole and goes into the future, only to discover he and his wife, Ashley, died in a terrorist attack.

How will Jack come to terms with this mind-numbing discovery? Will he be able to alter events in the future and return before he and Ashley are killed? Russell has done it again with this story. His writing style is easy to follow and he does an excellent job in portraying events to present readers with plenty of action and suspense. I now include Russell in my list of favorite authors and can’t wait to get the next novel in the series, A Time of Fear.

Blogs/Author Pages/Writing Sites I’d Like to Share

I’ve expanded this section from being only about blogs that I follow but also introduce you to some new authors and a few writing sites. Unfortunately, I’ve been too busy this week, so I don’t have anything to share with you.

That brings us to a close for another week. Hope you’ve found something of interest or at least useful for your own writing. If you have any suggestions for a topic you’d like to read about, please let me know. Until the next time, thank you for reading.